The new Giant Robo is being actively promoted for English markets by its production company in the form of this site.

Now, looking at that site, I’m finding myself asking “what have I done to you, Softgarage?” If you look at those character designs, it’s clear that they’ve revised the Giant Robo aesthetic. Giant Robo is not something that you can modernise. The whole point of watching it is so that you can feel like you’re watching anime of the sixties and seventies with a high level nineties budget, so expensive that years upon years are taken to animate the whole damned thing.

On top of this, they’ve revised the Giant Robo “mythology”, in that it didn’t used to have a mythology. The point of the previous Giant Robo was the morality of the technology that had been utilised in creating Giant Robo; the inherent danger of the very utility of the robot versus the danger of not using him and having Big Fire win. If these are mystical “god robots” discovered by people in various parts of the world, I don’t know what to make of that.

Of course, I shouldn’t say that something should slavishly conform to that which inspired it, but I sure would like it that way. With only one character that I recognise, Giant Robo might be interesting, but it won’t be what I loved.

Plus that site needs some editing. I mean, it has a “plomotion plan”.

… and I shouldn’t complain about “authenticity” if you consider that Giant Robo of the nineties was a huge mélange of Yokoyama’s entire career.

September 22, 2006 on 12:34 am | In Site News | Comments Off on Watch Renaissance!

Hello there! The movie Renaissance opens in America on September 22nd, and I advise that you see it.

I have written very briefly about it here: Renaissance. More importantly, I’ve put up a trailer which shows to some extent the visual intrigue offered by the film.

This is as good a time as any to tell you folks about my other, recently launched log of things on the internet (a “blog”, if you will … but I hate that word with all of my soul): Batrock: VGMM. That’s Australian for “Batrock: Meaningless Acronym”. It covers things that I like that aren’t anime, mainly movies so far. There have been a couple of obscure video game reviews, too, and a mention of Scissor Sisters.

Please treat me well!

PS. Kimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to That Day soon. Unrelentingly horrible film!

Coyote Ragtime Show is a heck of a lot of fun. As it is going, it is changing relationship dynamics in interesting ways and, rather than making them seem inconsistent, they suggest that familiarity breeds … understanding.

These episodes were of high enough quality that I don’t need to make joke titles, except for the third and final:
“The Yellow Shard of Fillerness”

It’s funny that Kiba can bring an unremarkable if satisfactory conclusion to a story arc, then immediately follow it up with stupid comedy to fill in the time. If this is only a 26 episode series, we’ve got only two episodes left to reconcile Noa’s evilness and Hugh’s ambition with Zed’s own power, and we also have to explain Zed’s mother into the deal.
Much as I hate to say it, I’m voting 52 episodes. Admittedly, Kiba wouldn’t have needed them if it hadn’t wasted so much time on getting around to it. “It” being anything worthwhile, really.

The lesson we’ve learned today is that, if you’re a giant metal grim reaper, you don’t mess with a guy’s memories of his mother’s death. You know what will happen if you do? He’ll emerge from his cocoon and his partner will evolve two levels and punch the heck out of you.